Dark Possession Read Online Free PDF Page B

Juliette and staggered toward the bathroom. She could see the killer in both of them, monsters lurking beneath the smooth, civilized facade. They had sworn to protect her, but they had brought her to this place of heat and oppression, away from all aid, and now they were stalking her. She needed help and everyone was too far away.
    Juliette held up her hand, a frown settling over her face. We’re scaring her, Riordan. Stop pushing at her. Listen to her heart. She is very frightened, beyond what should be normal. Is it possible whatever is affecting Manolito is affecting her?
    Riordan was silent a moment. MaryAnn had always struck him as a strong, courageous woman. Although he didn’t know her very well, she seemed to be acting out of character. If she is his lifemate, then it might be so. But how could she be his lifemate? Why wouldn’t he make his claim on her and put her under the protection of our family? It makes no sense, Juliette. He should not have awakened. Gregori locked him to earth, and when we brought him home, we took him to the richest soil in the rain forest and Zacarias ensured he would stay in the ground. I know of no others more powerful. How is it possible Manolito awakened before his time?
    Could the bond between lifemates override a binding command from the healer or from the head of our family?
    Riordan rubbed his chin. The truth was he just didn’t know.
    Well she’s scared to death and we have to do something. Juliette took a deep, calming breath. “MaryAnn, I can see you’re very distraught. I’m going to ask Riordan to step out of the room and we can talk about what’s bothering you.”
    MaryAnn ignored her and ran the last few steps to the huge bathroom, slamming the door closed and locking it. She raced to the sink and turned on the water, hoping it would deter Juliette from following her. Splashing cold water on her face helped to clear her mind, although she was shaking, frightened at the thought of what she had to do. It wouldn’t be easy to escape from the Carpathians. She had little defense against them, but Gregori, second in command and guardian of the prince, had been the one to put her under his protection, and he had given her a few safeguards. She just had to use them and keep from panicking until she could find her way back to the airstrip.
    She had always had a sixth sense about danger, yet she hadn’t seen this coming. Now the fear was growing inside of her, blossoming into full-blown terror. She couldn’t trust these people. They weren’t at all what they seemed. Everything was wrong. The huge estate, with its layers of beauty, was only designed to lure the unwary into the hands of the monsters. She should have seen through them all. Gregori should have seen through them all. Was it a huge conspiracy? Were they all involved?
    No, she would never believe it of her best friend, Destiny, or Destiny’s lifemate, Nicolae. They needed to be warned. Maybe they were already in trouble, or maybe it was just the De La Cruz family who had aligned themselves with the vampires. Spies in the Carpathian camp. All along there had been something different about them. She shouldn’t have trusted them.
    She stared at herself in the mirror, the red, swollen eyes, the signs of grief ravaging her face. The spot over her breast that never quite healed throbbed and burned. She had been certain it was a bite of some kind that she was allergic to. She’d had it ever since she’d been in the Carpathian Mountains, but now she feared it was far more. Perhaps Juliette or Riordan or Rafael De La Cruz had marked her in some way.
    She had wanted to go home, desperate to be away from the violence of the Carpathian world, but Juliette had come to her with a story about her younger sister, one MaryAnn had been unable to brush aside, even though her grief and despair had been overwhelming. Was Jasmine even real? MaryAnn doubted it. They were supposed to be at a huge cattle ranch in Brazil, one where